Walt's Corner

This is the first of four articles for what I refer to as the 4 Bs for a great cup of coffee. My first B is fresh Beans. We often refer to coffee as beans although they are more accurately described as the pits of coffee cherries. I’ll go ahead and give in and still refer to them as beans. You’ve got to have fresh beans. More so after roasting than before.

Beans can last a very long time after harvesting and processing. I’ve roasted green beans years after I bought them with no tell-tale taste in the cup. We refer to them as green coffee beans because, well, they’re green. Not the chocolate colored coffee beans you see in most grocery stores or in the bean hoppers at your local Starbucks or other mom and pop cafes; or even at McDonalds. Hey – don’t knock McDonald’s McCafe coffee. For an over-the-counter tub of pre-ground coffee, I hold it in high regards. But to say it’s gourmet or fresh coffee would not be accurate.

To properly enjoy a “fresh” cup of joe, those beans need to be within 3 months of the day they were roasted. That’s my opinion. Some would say sooner, but for me up to 3 months and in an air tight container and you can still taste the wonderful properties of fresh coffee. I can’t recall one time that my coffee ever made it past 3 weeks of being roasted. That just doesn’t happen in my house.

And this is where most coffees fail the fresh test. You’re lucky to find any pre-ground store bought coffee is within 6 months of being roasted. Most are going to be within a year. Pre-ground coffee is not even degassing anymore. Once you grind coffee beans there is no more fresh. You better brew that shit immediately.

What’s degassing you ask? After roasting coffee you still don’t want to use it yet. It’s too fresh. Coffee that is that fresh stinks. They smell more like burnt popcorn. Coffee beans need to rest for a few days after being roasted. After an overnight rest they begin to smell like the traditional coffee beans we’ve come to enjoy the aroma of. They release (mostly) CO2. That’s why you find check valves on coffee bags or tubs. They let the gas escape without letting air into the bag. Letting air in would cause the coffee to become stale. More about roasting in another article – that’s what I refer to as the Burn.

Starbucks beans are going to be more than 3 months after roasting by the time you see them. Closer to 5-6 months would be my guess if they are trying to be respectable. Before I was roasting my own beans the freshest I could find was within 5 months from the roasting date. You need to find someone that sources their beans from a local roaster to get something that fresh. Starbucks won’t tell you how long ago their beans were roasted. Most rumors/sources I’ve found through google put it between 7-8 months. Why? They have to buy a beans in bulk and roast them in bulk. Not ideal.

At one point I was offered the opportunity to be the coffee supplier for a local Mom and Pop store that offered higher end cooking equipment along with fresh coffee and tea leaves. Her current source was located in Albuquerque, NM, and within 4 months of roasting. I politely declined. But I did provider her with enough of a personal supply that ensured I received a healthy discount on purchases from her store.

Cafes that roast their own beans are going to be your best bet for the best cup of coffee you can get and their prices are going to be lower than Starbucks. They won’t have a board of directors to feed. Or you could do like me and roast your own. Guaranteed freshness. I’ve bought my beans exclusively from Sweet Maria’s since 2006. That’s another story I’ll save for a later date – what started my obsession with roasting my own coffee.